File Photo By Matt Hermiz
Local MPPs Bill Walker and Lisa Thompson say over $1 million is coming to the area to support local transit initiatives, with a local mobility transit system receiving 30 per cent more funding than last year.
A joint release says Ontario is distributing a combined $1,052,435 in funding to several municipalities in Grey Bruce through the Province’s Gas Tax program.
Municipalities will also receive Federal Gas Tax funding that will be used for roads.
Hanover will receive $740,828. Hanover is the lead municipality for Saugeen Mobility and Regional Transit (SMART), which serves Arran-Elderslie, Brockton, Chatsworth, Hanover, Huron-Kinloss, Kincardine, Saugeen Shores, Southgate and West Grey.
A release from SMART board chair Mike Myatt says that amount has increased by 30 per cent since 2020, “This funding plays a critical role and is essential in order to continue the door to door service SMART mobility provides,” says Myatt.
SMART helps to provide mobility services throughout Grey Bruce.
The City of Owen Sound is receiving $245,810. Director of Corporate Services Kate Allan says it’s roughly the same amount the City received from the Province last year.
Allan says it’s based on ridership and notes the Province decided the drop in riders during the pandemic would not reduce the funding allocation for 2021. She says the total cost of public transit is about $1.2 million, “Between Gas Tax and the fares we collect, we’re able to bring that down,” says Allan.
She notes the City also benefited from the Provincial-Federal Safe Restart Fund’s transit stream, which the City can use until at least March 2021. She says the City still had about $30,000 left of about $175,000 at the end of 2020 to put into a reserve for 2021, “To ensure that we can offer the service at its current service level without incurring a deficit or having to be a greater burden on the taxpayer.”
Allan says provincially, the municipal service areas hit hardest by the pandemic have been transit and recreation facilities. She explains, the Safe Restart money covers the cost of cleaning, and adds, “The biggest cost to transit is actually in the lost transit revenues, so the reduced fare and ridership that we’ve seen.”
The Municipality of Meaford will receive $65,797 for its transit needs.
MPP Bill Walker says, “This is excellent news for our communities with a public transit system,” adding, “Funding for public transit will help make it easier to get where you need to go while supporting economic recovery in our community.”
Huron-Bruce MPP Lisa Thompson agrees, saying, “The Gas Tax program is a reliable source of long-term transit funding our local municipalities can count on to help operate and expand existing public transit services,” she says “Our government is determined to support and improving public transit in our local communities and around the province as we continue to recover from the impacts of COVID-19.”
This year, the Province is distributing a total of $375 million in gas tax funding for 109 municipalities in Ontario that deliver public transit to 144 communities across Ontario. The province says it will flow the funding as soon as possible in 2021.
Funding for the Gas Tax program is determined by the number of litres of gasoline sold in the province during the previous year. Municipalities supporting public transit services in their community receive two cents per litre of provincial gas tax revenue collected. This funding can be used to extend service hours, buy transit vehicles, add routes, improve accessibility or upgrade infrastructure.
